Matilda, Harry Potter, and the Philosopher's Stone
by Lady Acorna
Summary: HP/Matilda movie version crossover. Matilda discovers that her powers are actually magic, that her best friend Lavender is also magic, and goes off to Hogwarts, where she becomes friends with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville. Please r&r!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I had been thinking about doing a Harry Potter crossover for awhile. However, whenever I tried to write one, I got partway throught he first chapter and realized that it wasn't any good, or that I couldn't make the crossover work. Anything that I could make work just ended up resembling other crossover fics I read, and I couldn't post them without being accused of copying other people's work. Finally, though, I thought of the Roald Dahl book _Matilda_, and began wondering what it would be like if Matilda, or rather the movie version of her (since she could do lots of cool things in it and didn't lose her powers), was able to do the things she did because she had magic. Since there are no fics on this site that are a crossover of Harry Potter/Matilda, I have decided to start one. I hope readers will like it. No, I will not neglect my other fic, in which Harry is born a girl, and I will probably update that more than this one, since I have many ideas all planned for that fic, and not as many for this one. _Matilda_ in this fic is based mainly on the movie-version, with only the setting, Britain, the same as the book.

Summary: Matilda Honey, formerly Wormwood, gets an invitation to attends Hogwarts at the age of eleven. Professor McGonagall shows up to explain the wizarding world and that Matilda's powers are actually magic. She decides to attend Hogwarts, where she mets Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. The five soon become friends and have a very interesting and adventurous few years at Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: This belongs to the wonderful British authors J.K. Rowling and Roald Dahl. I do not own any of their works, other than copies of their books, and I am merely borrowing their worlds to play around in for the time being.

Matilda Honey, as she had been known since her former first-grade teacher and current headmistress, Jennifer Honey, had adopted her, was sitting in the living room, reading the latest book by British author Brian Jacques. Though she had been reading authors that primarily wrote for teenagers and adults, such as Charles Dickens, since she was five, she still read any new books that came out that had been written by authors for children and preteens.

Just as she had gotten to the part where Mariel had been reunited with her father, Joseph the Bellmaker, the doorbell rang. As Miss Honey was in the backyard, weeding the garden, Matilda got up to answer the door. Standing on the porch was a stern lady with square spectacles, dark hair pulled back in a severe bun, and wearing a crisp white blouse and emerald-green skirt. She looked like someone you didn't want to cross, but unlike Miss Trunchbull, seemed to also have a (hidden) soft side.

"Is this the residence of Miss Matilda Honey, formerly Wormwood?" the woman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Matilda. "I'm Matilda. What is it that you're here for?"

"I'm here to extend you an invitation to a prestigious and exclusive school that I teach at," replied the woman. "Are your parents or guardians home?"

"My adopted mum's in the garden," answered Matilda. " The living room's right there. You can sit down while I go get her, ma'am."

Miss Honey came in when Matilda called her, washed her hands, and then went to the living room. "I'm Jennifer Honey, Matilda's adopted mother. You are?"

"Professor Minerva McGonagall," responded the other woman. "Your adopted daughter has very unique and special abilities, which is why I'm here to invite her to my school." She handed Matilda an envelope that seemed to be made out of parchment and not paper.

Matilda looked at curiously, noting that it had her exact address, all the way down to the room she slept in, and on the back had a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'. She then took out the letter within and gasped when she saw the invitation was for "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." "Is this some sort of joke, Professor McGonagall?" she asked, handing the letter to her mother to read.

"No, this isn't," answered Professor McGonagall. "Magic is real, and you are a witch. Here, allow me to demonstrate." She took out a stick, pointed it at a vase, and turned it into a turtle. After Matilda and Miss Honey had made sure that the vase really had turned into a turtle, McGonagall turned it back.

"So magic is real, then?" asked Matilda, not quite ready to believe it all.

"Yes, it is," said Professor McGonagall. "What do you think you were doing when you were levitating objects or summoning books? That was your magic. All children who are born with magical ability can do it, though normally it occurs in times of stress, anger, or other great emotion. When wizarding children turn eleven, or will do so by September first of that year, they will receive an invitation to attend Hogwarts. The ones born in Great Britain and Ireland do, at any rate. Only ones that are from Muggle, or non-magical, homes have their letters brought to them by a teacher from the school, however, since they require everything to be explained to them and assured that this isn't a joke."

"So my powers are magic!" exclaimed Matilda, delighted. "Wow!" She took the letter from Miss Honey and looked it over again.

"While it appears that you have some control of your magic, Hogwarts will teach you how to master it completely, with the use of a wand. And once you start Hogwarts, you will not be able to do magic outside of school until you turn of age. In the wizarding world, that is seventeen, not eighteen like in the Muggle world. So do you wish to attend?"

"Yes! Mum, can I please go to Hogwarts?"

"Of course," said Miss Honey with a smile. "Learning magic should provide you with a challenge, since regular school isn't currently, unless you were to attend University."

Professor McGonagall gave a rare smile and then explained about Diagon Alley, which was where the school supplies were bought, and gave some more information on Hogwarts. She arranged to return tomorrow morning and take them to London. Before she left, she gave Matilda a book that gave an overview of the wizarding world for Muggles.

"This is really exciting!" exclaimed Matilda after Professor McGonagall was gone. "I can't believe I'm a witch and going to a school to properly master my powers. I mean magic."

Miss Honey smiled. "I always knew that you were a special and talented girl, Matilda. I'm sure you'll do well at Hogwarts."

Suddenly Matilda remembered something that dampened her excitement somewhat. "What do I do about Lavender? She's my best friend, and I have to tell her something when I disappear ten months of the year to attend Hogwarts. I suppose I could just tell her that I'm going to a boarding school and not mention anything about magic, but I don't really want to keep everything a secret. I did eventually tell her about my powers, so couldn't I tell her about Hogwarts and swear her to secrecy?"

"I don't know," replied Miss Honey. "Perhaps you should ask Professor McGonagall about it when she returns tomorrow."

Matilda sighed. "I wish Lavender was a witch also. Then there'd be no secrets, and we could be at Hogwarts together."

"Well, maybe she'll turn out to be one. From what Professor McGonagall said, witches and wizards may have parents that aren't magical."

Matilda looked happier at that. She then abandoned reading _Mariel of Redwall_, and instead picked up the book on the wizarding world to read.

Author's Note: Since Lavender's last name wasn't mentioned in the book or movie _Matilda_, and it was hinted that Lavender Brown in the HP books might be Muggleborn, would readers have any objection if I made Lavender Brown and the Lavender in _Matilda_ be the same person? Please leave a reply in your reviews. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Most of the reviewers wanted Matilda's best friend and Lavender Brown to be the same person, so that is what has happened. While this is mainly based on the movie version of _Matilda_, I have decided to keep a few incidents, such as when Matilda did her first piece of magic, the same as in the books.

When Professor McGonagall arrived in the morning, she confirmed the fact that Matilda's friend, Lavender, was indeed a witch and would also attend Hogwarts. In fact, the Browns would also be on the trip to Diagon Alley. Matilda was very happy to find that her best friend was also a witch, and during the car ride to London, the two girls talked excitedly.

They stopped outside a shabby-looking place on Charing Cross Road, which Professor McGonagall said was the Leaky Cauldron. From the way passersby walked by without so much at a glance, Matilda surmised that Muggles couldn't see it. That turned out to be true, except for the fact that Muggles could see it once a witch or wizard pointed it out to them.

Five other Muggle families and their Muggleborn children were waiting at the pub, with another teacher. This one was an extremely short old man, who was introduced as Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms teacher and head of Ravenclaw house. The two teachers always took the families of the new Muggleborns to Diagon Alley together on the same day, which saved the bother of having to make several trips. Introductions were quickly made.

There were two other girls, Hermione Granger and Sally-Ann Perks. Hermione had bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and rather large front teeth. Her parents were dentists, she was very excited to discover she was a witch, and after a brief conversation, Matilda discovered that the other girl loved to read as much as she did and was very intelligent, though on a slightly lower level than her. Sally-Ann had dark golden hair, blue eyes, and was actually a halfblood rather than a Muggleborn. Her mother had been a witch, but she had died when Sally-Ann was five, and her Muggle father had raised the girl completely in the Muggle world, though she had been aware of magic and the wizarding world.

The three boys were Dean Thomas, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Terry Boot. Dean was black, like Lavender, and quite tall for his age. He lived in London, so a drive to Diagon Alley wouldn't take long for him. It was very clear from one look at Justin's parents that his family had money and possibly a title, like 'squire' or 'baron', but they didn't act at all snobbish. Justin was perfectly friendly with everyone else, though his remark about how his name had been down for Eton but he was much happier at the prospect of attending Hogwarts confirmed that his family was wealthy. As for Terry Boot, his family ran a pharmacy, and he appeared to a fairly intelligent boy and liked to read.

The two professors led the way to the back courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron, where Professor McGonagall tapped a certain brick on the wall. The bricks instantly shifted, creating an entrance to Diagon Alley. Matilda gazed around in wonder as she stepped through.

The first stop was Gringotts, the wizarding bank that was run by goblins. After the families got over their shock of seeing goblins, they were escorted to a desk to exchange pounds for wizarding currency. Professor Flitwick quickly explained that seventeen silver Sickles equaled a gold Galleon and twenty-nine bronze Knuts equaled a Sickle, and the goblin at the desk informed them that the current exchange rate was approximately five pounds to one Galleon.

Miss Honey exchanged two hundred fifty pounds for fifty Galleons and a few Sickles and Knuts to pay for the school supplies, and exchanged another hundred for twenty Galleons, which she gave to Matilda for her pocket money in the wizarding world. Matilda carefully stowed the money away in her purse and then the group set out for the shops.

The first stop was the bookstore Flourish and Blotts. After getting all the books required on the list, Matilda picked out a few extra for background reading. Hermione and Terry did the same, and in fact, Hermione had to be talked out getting too many by her parents. It wasn't until Professor McGonagall pointed out that Hogwarts had a fine library that Hermione conceded to her parents' wishes. The others did get a book or two that further explained the wizarding world, but that was it, as they weren't considered bookworms.

After that, the group split up, with the girls going to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and the boys going to Ollivander's Wand Shop. That was because getting measured for robes and finding the suitable wand both took up some time. Sally-Ann was first to be measured, and while waiting, Matilda, Lavender, and Hermione chatted.

"Isn't this terribly exciting?" remarked Hermione. "When do you think you did your first piece of accidental magic? I did mine when I was five. I couldn't reach a book I wanted to read, and all of a sudden it floated off the shelf and into my hands. I thought I must have shaken the bookcase hard enough to make the book fall off, at the time."

"I'm not sure," responded Lavender. "I think it was the time my mum said I couldn't leave the dinner table until I finished my cauliflower. After my parents had left the dinner table, I was staring at my plate, wishing for the cauliflower to disappear. A couple of minutes later, it did vanish, leaving my plate empty. I didn't understand it at first, but didn't really care since my parents assumed I had cleaned my plate and allowed me to leave. Later, though, I realized that I must have developed similar powers to the kind Matilda told me she had."

Matilda said, "Well, for me, it was back in first grade. At the time, our school had a really mean headmistress named Miss Trunchbull, who also happened to be my then first-grade teacher and now adoptive mum's step aunt. She hated children, and practically terrorized the school, though the stuff she did was the type that would never be believed by parents. Anyway, she made a weekly visit to each classroom, to show the teachers a thing or two about teaching. Well, one morning before school, Lavender and I, plus two kids a couple of grade above us, found a newt and put it in a jar of water. Lavender put the jar in her pocket when Miss Trunchbull pulled up in front of the school. Anyway, that was the day the Trunchbull was supposed to teach our class. Since she likes having water to drink during her visits, Miss Honey asked Lavender to fill a pitcher."

Lavender grinned. "As you've probably guessed, I got the brilliant idea of putting the newt in the pitcher."

Hermione blinked. She wasn't the type to play pranks on people, especially authority figures, but she'd make an exception for Miss Trunchbull, if she was as mean as Matilda said.

Matilda continued, "Well, when the Trunchbull found the newt in her glass, she thought I had done it. I knew perfectly well that Lavender must have done the prank, but I wasn't about to tell on my best friend. Anyway, the injustice of being accused of doing something I didn't do made me angry. So that's when I did my first piece of magic. After staring at the glass for a minute or so, I made it tip over, and the newt landed on the Trunchbull. She accused me of doing that, which was true, but Mum defended me, pointing out that I hadn't left my desk. With that incident, I realized that I had powers. At first it was only because I got angry, but I eventually managed to master them so that I could do them at will. Well, I haven't done anything more than moving objects and people and summoning them, but that was enough for me at the time. I didn't realize that it was actually magic until yesterday, though."

"There's more to that, Matilda," said Lavender. "Hermione, she actually used her powers, I mean magic, to get rid of the Trunchbull and restore Miss Honey's rightful inheritance. But with the headmistress gone and Miss Honey installed in the position, Matilda stopped using magic so much, since it wasn't necessary anymore."

Hermione looked intrigued, but as it was now her turn to be measured for robes, Matilda promised to tell the full story later. Sally-Ann joined Lavender and Matilda, and told them that her first sign of magic, according to her father, had been when she had thrown a tantrum at her block tower being knocked down back when she was three, and in her anger, made some of the blocks get thrown against the wall without anyone touching them. The two girls joined Sally-Ann in laughing over the incident. After that, it was Matilda's turn to be measured.

When Lavender was done, Professor McGonagall took the four families to Ollivander's, while Professor Flitwick and the other three families went to Madam Malkin's. Mr. Ollivander turned out to be a slightly creepy man with silvery eyes that seemed to remember every wand he had ever sold, for he asked Professor McGonagall if her wand of ivy wood, twelve inches, was still in good working order. Then he beckoned to Hermione and asked her which hand was her wand hand. Looking slightly confused, she replied, "Er, I'm right-handed, sir."

A measuring tape flew up with the aid of magic and began measuring her, while Mr. Ollivander took down some boxes and explained the wands he sold. He handed her a wand of yew, phoenix feather core, and nine inches. Before she could barely wave it around, he snatched the wand back and handed her one of oak, unicorn hair, thirteen inches. After several more wands, he handed her one of vine wood, dragon heartstring core, and ten inches. As soon as she waved it, a few red and blue sparks shot out of the end. "Oh bravo, young lady, the perfect wand has found you!" exclaimed Mr. Ollivander delightedly. He then gestured at Matilda and asked her for her wand hand.

She answered that she was right-handed and after being measured, began trying out the wands he handed her. After going through twenty-something wands, she was given one of hazel, phoenix feather core, and ten-and-a-half inches long. As soon as she touched it, she felt a warmth spreading through her body, and when she waved the wand, red, blue, and yellow sparks shot out of the tip.

Lavender was next and her wand was birch, unicorn hair core, and ten inches. Sally-Ann was last and her wand was willow, dragon heartstring core, and nine inches. The wands were paid for and then they met up with the others at the Apothecary for potion supplies. That was followed with a stop to buy cauldrons and another to buy parchment, quills, and ink.

At the end of the trip, Matilda, Sally-Ann, and Terry went to Eyelops Owl Emporium, for their parents had said they could get owls. After looking around at the owls, Matilda settled on a brown wood-owl that had flown over to a nearby perch when she entered and looked at her curiously for several minutes, then flown onto her shoulder. It was clear that the owl wanted her as its owner with this gesture.

The owner had told Matilda that the owl was female, and threw in a pack of owl treats for free when Miss Honey paid for owl, cage, and food and water dishes. The group then left the shop, where they found that Dean and Justin had left, since they had either decided not to get pets, or couldn't talk their parents into letting them have one. Sally-Ann bid the others good-bye and then left with her father, for he was a lawyer and had an appointment with a client that he couldn't get of that afternoon. Terry left as well. As for Hermione, Matilda and Lavender found out that she lived in a nearby town, only a twenty-minute drive away. So the three girls exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and Matilda invited Hermione to her birthday party, which was on August 3rd, five days away.

That evening, Matilda sent Hermione a letter, with the complete story of how she had used her magic to get rid of Miss Trunchbull, via her new owl, which had been named Athena after the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and arts and crafts, whose symbol was an owl.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: In the movie version, Matilda told her father that she had turned six in August, and as my birthday is August third, I have decided to use that as her birthday in this fic.

Matilda spent the next few days reading the extra books she had gotten for background reading. _Hogwarts, a History_, was very fascinating, and she enjoyed reading about the history of one of the greatest schools of magic. _Quidditch Through the Ages_ had information on the popular wizarding sport, plus a bit about Quodpot, which was popular in America. That was sort of like football, called soccer in the States, which was popular in most of the world, while American football was mainly popular in America. Anyway, Quidditch sounded very interesting, and Matilda, who wasn't really into sports, felt that she would make an exception for this one.

The book that proved to be most interesting, however, was _Modern Magical History_. It went into detail about how Professor Albus Dumbledore had defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, and described the war against the most recent Dark Lord, Voldemort. Actually, since most people in the wizarding world were afraid to say his name, or even write it, the book referred to him as 'You-Know-Who'. The only mention of his real name was at the beginning of the chapter, and then it was split up, written as 'You (Vol)-Know (de)-Who (mort). Matilda found it quite silly to be scared of a name, no matter how evil and frightening the person in question was, and decided to always use his proper name.

Voldemort reminded her strongly of Hitler, and she reflected that it was lucky that Hitler hadn't had any magic or things during World War II could have been much worse. The whole prejudice against Muggleborns was ridiculous, just like the prejudice against Jewish people and others that the Nazis hadn't accepted as being part of the so-called Aryan race had been. Matilda made a face and reflected that the wizarding world wasn't as perfect as she had originally thought. Well, at least Voldemort had been defeated and his followers, called Death Eaters, had been arrested, except for the ones that hadn't been caught and probably had quietly gone back to normal life as respectable citizens.

What amazed her, however, was how Voldemort had been defeated. He had gone to Godric's Hollow on Halloween almost ten years ago, with the Potter family as his target. He had killed James Potter first, followed by Lily. However, when he had tried to kill their one-year old son, Harry, the spell had somehow backfired. Voldemort had been vanquished, while Harry survived with only a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Consequently, he was famous in the wizarding world for defeating the most evil wizard in history, and was given the title of "Boy-Who-Lived." The book said that he was presumed to be living with the Muggle world with his Muggle relatives, since his mother had been Muggleborn.

Matilda did the math and realized that Harry Potter was turning eleven three days before she did, and so would attend Hogwarts this year. That meant she could actually meet someone who was famous, though the logical part of her reminded her that he was still a person who did things regular people did. There was also the fact that he couldn't possibly remember the event that made him famous, and in all likelihood hated it because it had also resulted in his parents' murders. Being brought up in the Muggle world meant that he wouldn't have been exposed to his fame until he got his Hogwarts letter, and so he would probably be a normal boy and not stuck-up or snobby the way some famous children could be.

Lavender came by on August 2nd, with the two books she had gotten for extra reading. One of them was _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_, which Matilda hadn't bought, that also contained the entire story of the war against Voldemort and his eventual defeat by Harry Potter. The two girls discussed the whole thing for a while, and wondered what Harry would be like. They more-or-less had an idea of what he looked like, based on the description of him as a baby. He was said to have his father's black hair and his mother's green eyes, and of course there was the scar. Since his father had worn glasses, it was possible that he might wear glasses as well.

The next day was Matilda's birthday and Hermione and Lavender came over for the party and to spend the night, because it was also a sleepover. Amanda Thripp and a couple of other girls from Matilda's class came to the party, but they weren't staying for the sleepover, since it was limited to best friends only. The party was quite fun, and ended with cake and presents. Matilda's presents consisted of a necklace and bracelet set (and the new outfit she was wearing) from her adopted mother, the _Last Herald-Mage_ trilogy by Mercedes Lackey from Lavender, the book _Jane Eyre_ by Charlotte Bronte from Hermione, and a journal, charm bracelet, and pink nail polish from the other three girls.

During the sleepover portion, there was another discussion about Voldemort and Harry Potter. Hermione had gotten the two books Matilda and Lavender had that contained the story, as well as _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_. She was very excited at the prospect of meeting the Boy-Who-Lived, until Matilda pointed out that he was really just a normal boy who happened to be famous, and Lavender added that he might not like his fame as it had also made him an orphan. Hermione calmed down after that.

For the rest of August, Matilda read her schoolbooks. While she didn't memorize them practically word-for-word the way Hermione did, she did retain most of the information in them. She also did a few simple spells just for practice. The Levitation and Color-Changing Charms worked for her, but she had some difficulty with simple transfiguration. It took her over fifty tries before she finally succeeded turning a match into a needle. She also tried the Summoning Charm, even though it was actually a fourth-year spell, since she had summoned objects before. However, it was more difficult to do it while using a wand, for some reason. Just pointing, making a beckoning motion with her finger or hand, or looking at an object to make it move was easier for her, since she had plenty of practice at it. Finally she had to pretend that using her wand was like pointing a finger in order for it to work.

The first of September was the day to leave for Hogwarts. Miss Honey drove Matilda to King's Cross Station, and after getting a trolley for the trunk, headed for Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. Professor McGonagall had explained how to get onto the platform, which was by going through the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten. Muggles could not get through it unless they were physically touching a witch or wizard.

Right in front of them was a red-haired family, consisting of a mother, her four sons, two of whom were twins, and a daughter, who apparently wasn't old enough to attend Hogwarts as she didn't have a trunk, but looked like she might be next year. The oldest boy briskly strode towards the barrier, and then it was the twins' turn. Apparently their mother had some difficulty telling them apart, for they pulled the whole switch thing that some twins liked to play, with Fred pretending to be George and vice versa.

That was when a boy with messy black hair and glasses, wearing clothes that looked a bit shabby and too big on him, and pushing a trolley with a trunk and an owl in a cage, approached. "Hello," said Matilda with a friendly smile. "Are you new to Hogwarts, too?"

The boy nodded and said, "Hello. Er, sorry to intrude, but the thing is, I don't exactly know how to get on the platform."

Matilda blinked. From his words, it was obvious he was Muggleborn, but why hadn't he gone to Diagon Alley with the other Muggleborns? Furthermore, why did the person that did take him neglect to tell him how to get onto the platform? It didn't quite make sense. However, she didn't voice her thoughts, and merely told him about going through the barrier.

The mother of the red-haired family turned and smiled at Matilda and the boy, and gestured at her youngest son, saying that it was Ron's first year as well. Matilda nodded and said hello to Ron and his sister, who apparently was named Ginny. Ron went through the barrier, and then the woman said in a kindly tone that Matilda, Miss Honey, and the boy could go ahead of her and Ginny. They thanked her and after the boy had gone through the barrier, Matilda took Miss Honey through.

A scarlet train appeared through the steam it was producing, and they started looking for Lavender and Hermione. On the way, they passed a round-faced boy with brown hair telling his rather formidable-looking grandmother that he'd lost his toad. His grandmother sighed in exasperation and exclaimed, "Oh Neville, not _again_!"

After a minute's search, they found Hermione and Lavender. The former had arrived at King's Cross fifteen minutes ago, and had already put on her Hogwarts robes. Matilda got her trunk on the train with some help from her friends, and a short distance away, saw the twins helping the black-haired boy load his trunk. Since he had attracted her attention, she made a note to get to know him, and then turned to her adoptive mother.

Miss Honey hugged her tightly, wished her well and to have a good time, asked her to write letters as often as possible, and told her that they'd see each other again for the Christmas holidays. After a couple of minutes, a whistle blew, and a minute or so after that, the Hogwarts Express began pulling out the station. Matilda waved to her mother, and she saw the red-haired girl, Ginny, run after the train, half laughing, half crying, until it gathered too much speed and she had to fall back, waving.

When the train had gone around a curve and the platform couldn't be seen anymore, Matilda quickly told her friends about the boy she had sort of met and the three girls set off to find him and see if perhaps they could join him in his compartment. On the way they passed the boy with the toad, and invited him to join them, since he looked rather unsure of himself. The boy was rather startled at being invited, and after he had gotten over it, timidly introduced himself as Neville Longbottom and his toad, a gift from his Great-Uncle Algie, as Trevor.

The girls introduced themselves and then they came across the black-haired boy, who was sitting in the very last compartment. Ron was there too, and had apparently just asked the other boy for permission to join him in the compartment, which was given. Matilda knocked on the door, then said, "Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if my friends and I could join you two in this compartment." Neville looked surprised at being included as her friend, when they'd only just met, but didn't say anything.

The two boys nodded and the girls and Neville got their trunks in the overhead racks and sat down. Matilda opened her mouth to introduce herself, but then spotted the scar on the black-haired boy's forehead. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "You're Harry Potter!"

The other occupants, besides Harry, looked extremely interested at this, and Ron exclaimed, "So you really are Harry Potter! Fred and George said that you were, but I thought it might have been one of their jokes. Do you really have the-." and he gestured at his forehead.

Harry lifted up his bangs, which had partly obscured the scar. If it hadn't been for her sharp eyes, Matilda might not have noticed it. Ron introduced himself at this point, and Lavender introduced herself and the remaining three. Before Ron could say anything more to Harry, Hermione broke in. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you, Harry! I've read all about you. I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century._"

"I am?" asked Harry looking rather dazed.

Before Hermione continued on letting her excitement at meeting someone famous override her good sense, Matilda spoke. "You are quite famous, Harry, so it's not surprising that you're in several books." Then remembering that there were famous people like actors and popular sports figures that weren't in books at all, amended, "I mean, famous for something that went down in history. Even if you don't remember what happened."

"_Do_ you remember anything of what happened?" asked Ron eagerly.

No," replied Harry. "Well, I do remember lots of green light, but not much else."

Matilda and Lavender exchanged looks, then regarded Harry thoughtfully. For someone who was famous, he appeared pretty much like a regular eleven-year old, and probably hadn't even known that he was famous until he'd gotten his Hogwarts letters, judging by his reaction to fact that he was in books. In fact, he might not have even known about magic until then, which made Matilda wonder what kind of people his relatives had been. Why wouldn't they tell their nephew or cousin (it hadn't been made clear what relation they were to him, but they were most likely cousins or an aunt or uncle, since he didn't have grandparents or siblings) about his heritage?

At this point, Neville shyly asked, "H-Harry, is it true that you lived with Muggles? What were they like?"

Harry nodded and responded, "Horrible, well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are though. I wish I had three wizarding brothers."

Ron shook his head. "Try five." He went on to talk about his older brothers Bill and Charlie, who had already left school. Bill had been Head Boy, while Charlie was Quidditch Captain. Now there was Percy, who was a prefect, and the twins Fred and George, who messed around a great deal but were considered funny and likeable by most people. Ginny wasn't mentioned, but considering that she was the only girl and the youngest, she probably got plenty of attention from her family. From the books Matilda had read, older brothers tended to be protective of younger sisters, well, when they weren't doing any teasing at any rate.

Ron sounded rather dismal as he talked about his family. Certainly he loved them and not just in a have-to-because-they're-family kind of way, but with five older brothers who were doing well in life or had some popularity, he tended to be overshadowed. He would also be expected to do as well as his brothers, but since they had done it first, it wasn't as big a deal. There was also the fact that his family wasn't exactly wealthy, especially with so many children, so Ron rarely got anything new.

Harry attempted to cheer Ron up by telling how he hadn't gotten anything new at the Dursleys and didn't even know about magic until Hagrid had shown up with his Hogwarts letter. Matilda and Lavender exchanged looks at this. From the looks of things, Harry hadn't exactly had the best of childhoods. Even Matilda's childhood with her biological parents had been better, for though her parents had emotionally neglected her, she had at least been well-looked after physically, and could escape her mundane life through books. Poor Harry seemed to have been both physically _and_ emotionally neglected by his relatives, without much escape, and if things had been worse, it could have bordered on abuse.

Ron gasped and Neville flinched when Harry happened to mention Voldemort's name. "I would have thought that you of all people would-" began Neville, looking startled.

"It's just a name," said Hermione impatiently. "There's nothing to be scared of. Fear the person, not his name. There were Muggles that were just as awful as Voldemort, but you don't see any Muggles afraid to say their names."

Matilda sighed. "There's a difference, Hermione. People like Adolf Hitler and Jack the Ripper are long dead, and most people that would have been around when they were alive are dead. Whereas there are plenty of people in the wizarding world that still remember what went on during the war with Voldemort. So it's understandable that most people are still afraid to say his name, though I do agree that they should get over the fear and not call him 'You-Know-Who' all the time."

Ron and Neville exchanged looks and then hesitantly said that they'd try. Hermione, looking satisfied, proceeded to change the subject about the four Hogwarts houses. Partway through the discussion, the door to their compartment slid open and a smiling witch asked, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Ron turned red and muttered he had sandwiches. Harry, on the other hand, jumped up at once and went out to the corridor. Matilda and Lavender retrieved their coin purses and then with Hermione and Neville, joined Harry out in the hall. The contents of the carts seemed to be composed mostly of wizarding sweets, which made Hermione frown slightly, since her parents were dentists. Matilda spotted the frown and whispered, "A few sweets just this once won't do any harm. We'll just make sure to brush our teeth longer tonight."

Between the five of them, they ended up getting some of everything off the cart, with Harry getting the most. Ron stared when they brought the lot in and tipped them onto the only empty seat available. "Hungry, are you?" he asked.

"Starving," replied Harry, picking up a pumpkin pasty and taking a large bite out of it.

"There are five of us, you know," pointed out Lavender. "And four of us haven't experienced wizarding sweets before, so naturally we'd want to try them out." She picked up a Cauldron Cake, then gestured at the pile of food. "Feel free to help yourself, Ron. Even with all of us, we won't be able to eat all this in one sitting."

Ron turned pink again and he protested, "But I have sandwiches!" However, he made a face as he unwrapped one and saw that it was corned beef, which he didn't like.

Matilda picked up a pumpkin pasty and thrust it into his hands. "Here, Ron. And like Lavender said, feel free to help yourself. We can't eat it all at once, we're all friends here, or on our way to becoming friends, and Hermione's not going to eat that many sweets since her parents are dentists." Seeing Ron and Neville's confused look, she explained, "Dentists are the Muggle equivalent of Healers, except they're only for your teeth. They do things like cleaning teeth, and certain ones also straighten them."

Ron and Neville nodded, and Hermione said, "Besides, we need you and Neville to explain some of these sweets to us, Ron."

"Yeah," said Harry, picking up a chocolate frog. "Like this. They're not really frogs, are they?"

"No, it's just chocolate made in the shape of frogs," answered Neville.

"Oh, like the chocolate bunnies Muggles have at Easter!" exclaimed Lavender in comprehension.

"But see what card you have," said Ron. "I'm missing Agrippa. Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Matilda unwrapped a frog and looked at the card inside. It was of Felix Summerbee, the inventor of Cheering Charms. Next to her, Harry exclaimed, "So this is Dumbledore!"

Laender looked up from her card with interest. "Can I see that when you're done, Harry?" Harry nodded and after a few seconds, handed it over to her.

When she handed it back, he gasped. "Dumbledore's gone!"

"Well of course," said Ron. "You can't expect him to hang around all day."

"Ron, in the Muggle world, pictures don't move," said Hermione. "We don't exactly have spells or potions that allow that."

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "_Weird!" _Neville looked startled to hear this.

The six of them unwrapped more chocolate frogs, with Ron and Neville giving any cards that they already had to the girls and Harry so they could start collecting. After while, they moved on to Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, which looked similiar to jelly beans, but unlike them, literally had every flavour. Along with the usual things like strawberry and chocolate, they also had tripe and spinach. Ron said that his brother George reckoned he had come across a booger-flavoured one once.

They had a good time eating the beans and trying to guess what the flavours based on the color. Matilda's flavours were pretty decent, with the only one that tasted funny a white one that wasn't milk like she guessed, but instead was what she thought might be glue.

Thry had moved on to the rest of the food when Neville noticed that Trevor was missing again. As search of the compartment proved that the toad wasn't there, which meant he must have gotten out, probably when the witch with the food trolley had come by. Though Ron didn't look very enthusastic about it, they all offered to help Neville took for his toad.

However, nobody had seen Trevor, and in fact, at one compartment, the occupants made fun of Neville having a toad. Or rather, the blond-haired boy with a pale pointed face and gray eyes did, while the two thick-set boys that looked mean rather stupidly laughed and a girl that looked pug-faced and another girl with dark hair and eyes agreed the the blond boy.

Matilda stiffened and said rather sharply, "There's nothing wrong with having a toad for a pet. Furthermore, it's not Neville's fault that he has a one. It was a gift from a relative."

The blond boy simply scoffed, while the two girls tittered. Lavender opened her mouth to come into her friend's defense, but before she could do so, the boy focused on Harry. "I've heard that Harry Potter was on the train. So it's you, then."

"Yes," replied Harry, giving a polite smile that was obviously forced.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," said the blond boy. He gestured at the two thick-set boys next to him. "That's Crabbe and Goyle. The girls are Pansy Parkinson and Tracey Davis."

Ron made a choking sound and Draco looked at him. "Something wrong? Oh, I know who you are. My father told me that all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." Ron turned scarlet as Draco focused his attention back to Harry.

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.

Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, a pathetic boy with a stupid toad, and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

"Neville's not pathetic, and the Weasleys and Hagrid aren't riffraff!" snapped Harry, losing all pretense of politeness.

"Furthermore, Draco Malfoy, the only reason you offered to be friends with Harry is because of his fame," snapped Matilda. "None of us are friends with him because of that. We're friends with him because we've gotten to know him and find him a nice person."

Draco glared at her. "You know nothing," he said nastily. "Who are you, by the way?"

"Matilda Honey," answered Matilda, her tone of voice icy.

He made a dismissive noise. "That's not a wizarding name. You must be a Mudblood then."

Neville gave a horrified gasp and burst out, "Don't call her that!" while Ron gave an angry growl and pulled out his wand. Before he could do anything, however, Matilda took out a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean from her pocket, and using her wandless magic, caused it to go zooming from her palm and lodging in Malfoy's right nostril. He gave a yelp and Pansy tried to help him dislodge the bean, while Ron, Harry, Neville, and Lavender tried unsuccessfully to stifle laughter and Hermione looked torn between amusement and disapproval.

"Don't ever call me that again," snapped Matilda. "I have been aware of the fact that I could do magic since I was five, and by the time I was six, I have mastered wandless magic to a certain extent. Moving objects and people around is child's play for me. If you don't wish to find yourself floating in mid-air or have small objects in your nose as punishment every time you're rude or otherwise behaving badly, then you had better start shaping up. After all, when a person is bad, that person needs to be punished."

Malfoy sputtered, Pansy and Tracey looked indignant, and Crabbe and Goyle simply looked confused and at a loss at what to do. Matilda turned to her friends. "Let's continue the search for your toad, Neville, and leave these idiots."

When they had left the compartment, Ron congratulated Matilda for what she had done to Malfoy, Harry explained how he had met Malfoy in Diagon Alley, and Neville told about how Draco's father had claimed to have been bewitched by Voldemort and therefore avoided being arrested as a Death Eater.

"Well, even if he was bewitched, he still has the same views that Voldemort did," said Lavender in disgust. "And then raised his son to think the same."

"Matilda, you really won't do what you said to Malfoy, will you?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"Hermione, I have more sense than to do something that will get me in trouble," replied Matilda. "However, that doesn't mean that if he provokes me as much as he just did, I'll just keep quiet. I really don't like people that throw their power around or insult my friends. You know what I did to the Trunchbull." Then she had to explain to the three boys about how she had realized that she had magic and then mastered it somewhat in order to drive out the tyranical headmistress of her primary school.

When she was done, Lavender suggested that she try to Summon Trevor. So Matilda did so, after first opening the doors of each compartment so that the toad wouldn't smack into them. It worked, though several people stepped out of their compartments to complain of a toad flying past them. Matilda quickly explained things, and the Weasley twins and their friend Lee Jordan looked impressed that a first-year could summon things wandlessly. She brushed it off, as she wasn't the type to show off.

The six of them then returned to their compartment, Neville tightly clutching Trevor so that he couldn't escape again. After a few minutes, the boys went to the bathroom to change into their robes, while Lavender and Matilda put on their robes in the compartment. When the boys returned, the six resumed their previous conversation of the houses. All of them wanted to be in Gryffindor, which sounded by far the best, though Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad either.

However, Neville said dismally that he'd probably end up in Hufflepuff, which prompted Matilda to say, "Hufflepuff is a perfectly wonderful house, and if you got Sorted there, it would show that you are a loyal and hard-working person with a sense of fair play, which are excellent qualities. Furthermore, you are a great person, Neville, and I believe that you are brave enough for Gryffindor. You just need to have some confidence in yourself." She then told him about the Cowardly Lion in the book _The Wizard of Oz_, who believed that he needed to go to the Wizard to ask for courage when he actually wasn't cowardly at all. He had simply lacked confidence, for on the journey to the wizard, he had bravely tried to defend his friends against a monster despite his fear, showing that he was no coward.

Neville cheered up at this, and not long after that, the Hogwarts Express began slowing down. A couple of minutes later, the train came to a complete stop and everyone began leaving. A gaint of a man, whom Harry whispered was Hagrid, the gamekeeper, called all the first years over to him. He led the group to the lake, where they'd be crossing over in boats to reach Hogwarts. "No more'n four ter a boat!" called Hagrid.

Harry, Ron, and Neville got into a boat with a sandy-haired boy, and Matilda, Lavender, and Hermione got into a boat with a girl fo Asian descent who introduced herself as Su Li. Hagrid got into the lead boat and a minute later, they were off. When they rounded a bend, everyone gazed in awe at the castle that was Hogwarts.

Once they reached the other side, the first-years climbed out of the boat and Hagrid led them up a path towards the castle. It was dark, and Neville tripped once and would have fallen if Matilda hadn't reached out and grabbed the back of his robe, steadying him. He muttered a nervous thank-you and soon they reached the castle. Hagrid raised one enormous hand and knocked loudly on the front door.


	4. Chapter 4

The door swung open and Professor McGonagall stood there. She wore emerald green robes and a pointed witch's hat, very different from the Muggle clothing she had worn on the trip to Diagon Alley, but still looked as strict and severe as ever.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here," said the Deputy Headmistress.

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big that Matilda figured most of her home could have fitted in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too hight to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led up to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. From the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right, it sounded as if the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common-room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most house points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as your can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Ron, whose nose was still smudged despite having tried to brush it clean earlier, and then at Neville whose cloak had somehow shifted so that it was now fastened underneath his ear.

Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair, which was unsuccessful, Lavender adjusted her glasses, and Matilda calmly retied the red ribbon in her hair. "How do we get Sorted?" asked Neville, sounding panicked. "Gran wouldn't tell me, because she said she wanted it to be a surprise, and Great-Uncle Algie just made up some stuff."

"From what I read in _Hogwarts, a History_, Godric Gryffindor did a spell or something so that students could be Sorted when the Founders were gone," replied Matilda. "It was very vague, so it didn't explain what it was he did exactly."

"Fred said that it hurt a lot, but I think he was joking," said Ron uncertainly.

Hermione looked nervous and began muttering under her breath about all the spells she had learned and which ones she'd need. "Relax, Hermione," said Lavender. "The impression I got was that whatever Godric Gryffindor did created a way to figure out what house each person belonged in based on their qualities, which is what the Founders did when they were alive."

"That makes a great deal of sense, Lavender," remarked Matilda thoughtfully. Before she could say anything more, twenty or so ghosts came floating through the wall, causing her to gasp, Harry to jump about a foot in the air, and another student to scream.

The ghosts all seemed to be arguing about something. None of them noticed the first-years until a ghost in tights and ruff happened to glance over at them. When the ghosts discovered that the group were all new students about to be Sorted, one ghost, the Fat Friar, said cheerfully that he hoped to see them in Hufflepuff, his old house.

Professor McGonagall appeared at this juncture and escorted the first-years into the Great Hall. Despite all that she had read, Matilda still gazed around in wonder. Reading a description of something and seeing it with your own eyes weren't the same, after all. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Matilda looked up at the ceiling, which was velvetly black and dotted with stars, and next to her, she heard Hermione whisper to Harry, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

Professor McGonagall silently set a stool in front of the first years, with a frayed, patched, and extremely dirty hat placed on top of it. Matilda stared at it blankly, before remembering what Lavender had said earlier and wondered if perhaps you had to draw the name of whatever house you were to be in out of the hat. Before she could seriously consider the theory, a rip in the brim of the hat opened wide like a mouth and it proceeded to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me. _

_You can keep your bowlers black, _

_Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head _

_The Sorting Hat can't see, _

_So try me on and I will tell you _

_Where you ought to be. _

_You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_Where dwell the brave at heart, _

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Set Gryffindors apart; _

_You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_Where they are just and loyal, _

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_And unafraid of toil; _

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_if you've a ready mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_You'll make your real friends, _

_Those cunning folk use any means _

_To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid! _

_And don't get in a flap! _

_You're in safe hands (though I have none) _

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!" _

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." Matilda shook her head, wondering how he could have been so naive as to semi-believe his brother, who appeared to be something of a prankster. Then again, if Fred was a good prankster, he could tell the truth just often enough so that people wouldn't know if he was serious or joking.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause — "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Matilda saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. "Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, and next was Lavender, who became the first new Gryffindor. The table on the far left exploded with cheers, with Ron's twin brothers catcalling. As Lavender made her way to the Gryffindor table, she grinned broadly at her friends as she passed them, and exclaimed, "I hope you guys join me in Gryffindor!"

After her was "Bulstrode, Millicent", who became the first new Slytherin. She seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle, and and as she joined the other Slytherins, Matilda couldn't help noticing that most of them looked like an unpleasant lot.

Sometimes, Matilda noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnegan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy who had been in the boat with Harry, Ron, and Neville, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

After "Goyle, Gregory" was Sorted into Slytherin, it was Hermione's turn. She almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted several seconds later. She waved delightedly at her friends and then hurried off to the Gryffindor table, where she sat down next to Lavender.

Matilda was called up next and she quickly went to the stool, where she sat down and placed the Sorting Hat on her head. Instantly a little voice said in her ear, "Hmmm, where shall I sort you? Let's see, you are intelligent and well-read, and could do well in Ravenclaw. Or perhaps not, because you also like having fun, and while you do apply yourself in school and enjoy it, you are not as obsessed about schoolwork and grades as the average Ravenclaw. But you possess a great deal of bravery and courage, are extremely loyal to your friends, and have a noble nature. So I believe that you will be best suited in - GRYFFINDOR!"

The last word was shouted out to the entire hall. With a grin, she removed the hat, and hurried to the Gryffindor table, pausing long enough to whisper "Good luck" to Neville, Harry, and Ron as she passed. Neville and Ron gave her weak smiles, but Harry seemed not to have heard her, and in fact appeared panic-stricken. It was almost as if he was afraid that he wouldn't be chosen at all. She couldn't linger, however, so she simply gave him an encouraging pat on the arm and then joined Lavender and Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

When Neville was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. A number of people snickered or giggled, but the three girls didn't. The hat took a long time to decide with him. When it finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." Lavender couldn't help giggling, but quickly composed herself, and Hermione smiled in amusement, but managed to turn it into one of congratulation when Neville sat down. Matilda, while she did find it funny, also understood that it was Neville's excitement at being Sorted into Gryffindor that made him run off still wearing the Sorting Hat, and so was able to refrain from laughing and further embarrassing him.

After Morag had gotten placed in Ravenclaw, it was Draco Malfoy's turn. His swagger towards the stool irked her, which was perhaps why when he sat down and started to place the hat on his head, she made a tiny flicker of her head and caused the hat to fall to the ground from his grasp. Several students laughed at his dropping it, causing him to flush as he got off the stool to pick up the hat. When he started to sit down again, Matilda made a tiny gesture with her finger and caused the stool to slide back a few inches, so that he missed it and instead ended up on the floor. There was more laughter as Malfoy got up, face very pink and his pride injured.

Hermione gave Matilda, who adopted an innocent expression, a sharp look, but didn't say anything. Malfoy sat down on the stool and this time, without any incident, placed the hat on his head. It had barely touched his head before it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Trying to recover his dignity, he went to join Crabbe and Goyle.

After a few more names, it was Harry's turn. As he stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"_Potter_, did she say?"

"_The _Harry Potter?"

There was several seconds of excited silence before the Sorting Hat finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table burst into thunderous applause, and a good many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs joined in. Harry had a look of relief as he took off the hat and shakily headed to the Gryffindor table, where he took a seat between Neville and Matilda. Ron's brother, Percy the Prefect, got up and shook Harry's hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" The ghost in a ruff that they'd seen earlier, obviously the resident ghost for Gryffindor house, patted his arm. The three girls and Neville congratulated Harry on also getting into Gryffindor.

There were only four people left to be sorted. "Turpin, Lisa" became a Ravenclaw, and Dean Thomas, whom the girls had met on the trip to Diagon Alley, got Sorted into Gryffindor. Then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now, and Matilda silently sent a prayer to every diety in existance that he would also get into Gryffindor. Her prayer was granted a couple of seconds later. The other five clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the seat next to Neville.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin.

Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. A moment after that, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Matilda joined in, knowing that from what she had read, Dumbledore, though very powerful and a genius, was somewhat eccentric.

"Is he – a bit mad?" Harry asked Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

Matilda turned her gaze to the table, and even though she had read about the feasts in _Hogwarts, a History_, her mouth couldn't help falling open in surprise. The dishes in front of her were now filled with food. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs.

She instantly filled her plate and began to eat. It was all quite delicious, even better than the food she and Miss Honey made, and they were pretty good cooks. After a few minutes, the ghost in ruffs introduced himself as "Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor tower."

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you – you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would _prefer _you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy –" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnegan interrupted.

"_Nearly _Headless? How can you be _nearly _headless?"

Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. "Like _this_," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell on to his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but had not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back on to his neck, coughed and said, "So – new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row. The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable – he's the Slytherin ghost."

Matilda looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face and silver robes stained with blood. He was right next to Malfoy who clearly didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.

"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.

"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates leaving them as clean as before. A moment later the puddings and dessert appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding…

Matilda helped herself to some strawberry ice cream, treacle tart, and an éclair, and that was when the conversation turned to their families. Seamus said that he was half-and-half, and that his dad, a Muggle, hadn't been told that his wife was a witch until after they were married. Matilda and Lavender said that they were Muggleborn, but after doing some odd things, realized that they had powers, though they didn't know that it was actually magic until they had gotten their Hogwarts letters.

"What about you, Neville?" asked Ron.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all Muggle for ages. My Great-Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-Uncle Algie came around for tea and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great-Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced – all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

Matilda frowned at this. She was sure that Neville's relatives had meant well, but well, it was very clear why he had low self-confidence. After making clear for so long that they thought he might not have magic, and then when he finally demonstrated that he did, showing that they thought that he might not have enough for Hogwarts, it was a miracle that he even had any confidence in himself. She shook her head, remembering something she had read once. "The road to hell is ordered by the righteous, planned by by the well-meaning, and paved with their good intentions." That quote fitted Neville's life completely.

Harry then said that he had been brought up by his Muggle aunt and uncle, who hated magic and anything else that they didn't find normal, and so as a result, hadn't bothered telling him about the wizarding world or that he had defeated Voldemort. It wasn't until he had gotten his Hogwarts letter that he had found out everything. Several people gasped at this.

Several minutes later, Harry clapped a hand to his forehead and exclaimed, "Ouch!"

Matilda turned to look at him in concern, while Percy asked, "What is it?"

"N-nothing," answered Harry, his voice slightly shaky. He then proceeded to ask Percy about one of the teachers up at the staff table. Matilda looked at Harry for a moment more, wondering what had just happened, and then turned turned to answer a question from Lavender and finish her treacle tart.

At last, the puddings too disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. "I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should consult Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Matilda and Lavender exchanged looks, wondering why the corridor was out of bands that year. Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.

"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. The other teacher's smiles became rather fixed at this point.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he was trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself snake-like into words.

"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

Matilda chose the tune of the Beatle's song "Hey Jude" to sing the school song tune. Finally only the Weasley twins were left singing to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted the last few lines for them and then dismissed everyone for bed. Percy, in his role as prefect, led the Gryffindor first-ways to the common room. On the way, he told them about how some of the staircases liked to move, and had to warn them about Peeves the poltergeist when they ran into him. Only the Bloody Baron could fully control Peeves, and Percy had to threaten the poltergeist with the Baron before he would leave, but not without dropping the bundle of sticks he was carrying on Neville first.

Fortunately for Neville, Matilda had been expecting something of the sort, and used wandless magic to make the sticks move aside and land on the ground, so that he didn't get hit with them. Except for her friends, none of the other Gryffindors had any notion as to how that happened, so they proceeded in silence, other than Neville whispering his thanks to Matilda.

Finally they reached a portrait of a rather plump lady dressed all in pink. "Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," answered Percy. The portrait swung open, revealing an entrance hole behind it. They all clambered through, with Neville needing a leg up.

Inside the common room, the found a number of armchairs and sofas, several tables, and a large fireplace. Two staircases led to the girls' and boys' dormatories. Percy told them which staircase was which, and after bidding Harry, Ron, and Neville good-night, Matilda, Lavender, and Hermione followed Parvati Patil and another girl up the girls's staircase.

A sign on a door marked it as being for the first-years, and the five first-year girls went inside. The room had five four-poster beds, all with red hangings, dressers between each bed, five hampers for the laundry, and three tall wardrobes. Their trunks had already been brought up.

Parvati and the fifth girl, who said that her name was Sophie Roper, changed into their nightgowns and got ready for bed a few minutes later. Hermione began unpacking some of her things and put them neatly away in the wardrobe before she too got ready for bed. Matilda, who didn't feel at all tired, got out some parchment, ink, and a quill and began writing a letter to Miss Honey, telling her about the train ride, her Sorting into Gryffindor, and the feast. When she was done, she yawned, finally feeling a bit sleepy. She put the letter away for Athena to deliver tomorrow and then changed into her pyjamas, brushed her teeth, and went to bed.

Author's Note: Yes, about half the chapter is taken from the book. I didn't really feel like writing everything in my own words. I was tempted to put the six into different houses, but then decided that it would be too much like my other fic, where Hermione was in Ravenclaw, Ron in Slytherin, Neville in Gryffindor, and Marigold (girl Harry) was in Hufflepuff. I was still tempted to put Matilda in Ravenclaw, just so that they could meet Luna much earlier in canon, but then decided that it would be better if to just have them all in Gryffindor and find another way for them to meet Luna in second year.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Sorry that it took me a long time to update. I was busy with other things in my life, and lost some interest in this fic until I watched the movie _Matilda_ again a few days ago.

The next morning, Matilda woke up at five thirty and couldn't fall back asleep again as she was too excited to finally be learning magic. So she got up, showered, and brushed her teeth, then got dressed in her school robes and tied a crimson ribbon in her hair. After that, she went down to the common room with her Potions textbook and read until seven. That was when some other students came downstairs. One of them, a third-year that introduced herself as Alicia Spinnet, gave her directions to the Owlery and from there to the Great Hall.

At the Owlery, Athena flew down from her perch near a number of other owls and hooted softly. "Good morning, Athena," said Matilda. She found an owl treat in her pocket and handed it to the owl. Once she had eaten it, Matilda tied the letter and asked the owl to deliver it to her adopted mother. Athena hooted again and then flew out the window.

On the way to the Great Hall, Matilda ran into Hermione and Lavender, who looked slightly confused as where to go. They had asked an older student the direction to the Great Hall, but the directions hadn't been completely clear, and now the two girls didn't know whether to go left or right. "Alicia Spinnet gave me clearer instructions," said Matilda. "Just follow me."

The three girls made their way to the Great Hall and found empty seats at the Gryffindor table. Several minutes later, Harry, Neville, and Ron came in. Ron looked slightly disgruntled. "We got lost," he said, sitting down across from Matilda. "Then we tried getting through a door, thinking that it might be a shortcut, but it wasn't."

"It was the out-of-bounds corridor," added Harry. "The caretaker, Filch, caught us, and wouldn't believe us when we told him that we'd gotten lost."

"Luckily Professor Quirrell, the one in the turban and with a stutter, was walking by and rescued us," finished Neville. "Or Filch would probably have given us detention."

Lavender frowned. "Why wouldn't Filch believe that you were lost? It's not like you three were purposely trying to get through the out-of-bounds corridor."

"My brothers said Filch hates students," answered Ron. "He doesn't believe anything students tell him, especially when he catches them at something."

"Then we'll just have to avoid Filch and try not have him catch us doing anything he thinks is against the rules," said Matilda philosophically. "And no Ron, I'm not going to do anything to him. I don't go around using magic on every unpleasant person I come across, and anyway, Filch isn't the ultimate authority at Hogwarts."

Ron looked a little disappointed, but then dismissed it as he applied himself to his breakfast. Schedules were handed out and Matilda looked at hers. "We have Transfiguration first," she remarked. "After that is Defense Against Dark Arts. Defense really sounds fascinating." The others agreed.

After breakfast, the six of them headed for the Transfiguration classroom. Fortunately Lavender had asked Percy for directions before leaving the Great Hall, so they didn't get lost. When the lesson started, Professor McGonagall gave the class a stern talking-to, warning everyone that anyone who misbehaved would leave and not be asked to return. Then she turned her desk into a pig and back again. Everyone was impressed, but then became disappointed when they were informed that they wouldn't be learning to turn furniture into animals for a few years. After taking some complicated notes, each person was given a match and instructed to try to transfigure it into a needle.

As Matilda, Lavender, and Hermione had practiced it for the previous month, they were able to turn their matches into needles on the first try. Professor McGonagall looked impressed, gave them a rare smile, awarded five points to Gryffindor, and then handed them each a beetle and instructed them how to turn it into a button. Hermione was the only one to succeed by the end of class. Matilda managed to remove the antennae and legs and make the beetle round, but otherwise it looked and felt like a beetle. Lavender transfigured it into something that was plastic like a button, but it was still the same shape as the beetle.

Nobody else was able to turn their matches into needles, though Harry did manage to make his match silvery towards the end of class, and Parvati made her match as thin as a needle and with a point, but still made of wood. As they left the class, Ron asked the girls how they were able to turn their matches into needles on the first try. "It's only because we did some practicing," replied Lavender. "And it took me ages to finally succeed. Hermione was able to do it in like a dozen tries. Matilda got it before me, but not as quick as Hermione."

Defense Against Dark Arts turned out to be something of a joke. For one thing, Professor Quirrell was scared of practically everything, and as a result had a stutter, which made the lecture take twice as long, and sometimes it was a bit difficult to understand him. For another, his classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward of a vampire he had met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. The rather ridiculous turban he was wearing, he said was a thank-you gift from an African prince for getting rid of a troublesome zombie. Nobody really believed that story, for when Seamus Finnigan eagerly asked how it had happened, Quirrell turned pink and began talking about the weather. Also, there was a funny smell around the turban, and later the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed with garlic so Quirrell would be protected wherever he went.

The week progressed, and Matilda found the rest of her classes very interesting, except for History of Magic. That was the only class taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep by the staff room fire one night. The next morning, he had gotten up to teach as usual, leaving his body behind. He apparently didn't even seem to notice that he was dead, other than his habit of floating through the chalkboard to enter the room. His lectures were extremely boring, as he spoke in a monotone voice that would make the most exciting tale put someone to sleep. After the first ten minutes, Matilda gave up trying to pay attention to the lesson, and began reading the textbook instead.

Three times a week, Herbology was held, in the greenhouses on the grounds, and taught by Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff. That was the one class Neville really excelled in, and while Matilda and Hermione were his equals in the theoretical portion, Neville outshone them in the practical part. Charms was taught by Ravenclaw head of house Professor Flitwick, who was so tiny that he had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of the very first class, he took the register, and when he got to Harry's name, he gave a squeak of excitement and toppled out of sight. Astronomy, taught by Professor Sinstra, was held every Wednesday night at midnight in the tallest tower.

Fortunately the sextet had the sense to ask an older Gryffindor student, usually Percy (and never Fred and George, who would no doubt give them misleading directions), how to get to their classes, so they rarely got lost. However, no matter where they went, there were students whispering and pointing out Harry to each other. They were queuing outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. This got annoying really quickly

On Friday was their very first Potions class, held with the Slytherins. During breakfast that morning, Ron said that he'd heard from his brothers that Professor Snape, the Potions instructor, favored his own house of Slytherin. "I guess we'll see if that's true."

"Wish McGonagall would favor us," muttered Harry.

Matilda raised a brow. Well, he did have a point, as Professor McGonagall hadn't let being Head of Gryffindor stop her from assigning them a load of homework the day before. While Matilda didn't really mind doing homework that much, neither did she love doing it like Hermione did.

The mail arrived at this point and Athena flew in with a package and letter from Miss Honey. Matilda removed the burden, gave Athena some toast, and then read the letter. When she was done, Harry said, "Hagrid invited me and my friends over for tea this afternoon. Do you guys want to come?"

The others said yes, so Harry borrowed Ron's quill and wrote, "_Yes, please,_" on the back of Hagrid's note and sent it off again with his owl Hedwig. Matilda opened the package, which turned out to be a new book and a tin of biscuits made in the shape of witch's hats, brooms, and wands.

Potions turned out to not be as great as she had hoped. Professor Snape started the class by taking attendance like Professor Flitwick did, and when he got to Harry's name, he paused. "Ah yes, Harry Potter, our new- _celebrity_." Malfoy sniggered, and Matilda suppressed the urge to use wandless magic to make bring him down a peg.

Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word – like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry exchanged puzzled looks with Ron, while Hermione's hand shot up in the air.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything." He ignored Hermione's hand. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry clearly didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. "I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching towards the dungeon ceiling. Malfoy and his cronies continued shaking with laughter. Matilda got thoroughly fed up with their behavior, and before Harry could say that he didn't know the answer to that question either, she moved their chairs back slightly so that the three fell to the ground. Snape, thus distracted, turned to look at them. "What happened here?" he asked in more pleasant tone of voice.

Malfoy got to his feet and replied, "The chair somehow moved under me and I fell, sir."

While this was going on, Matilda leaned over to Harry and whispered, "They're the same plant, also called aconite." Hermione frowned, but didn't say anything.

Harry blinked in surprise, then mouthed 'thanks'. When Snape turned his attention back to his question, Harry answered, "They're the same plant, sir. And it also goes by the name of aconite."

Snape looked slightly taken aback, then snapped, "Correct, but you still were unable to answer the other two questions. For your information, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful known as the Draught of Living Death. As for a bezoar, it is a stone found in a stomach of a goat and can save you from most poisons. Well? Why aren't you all copying it down?" There was instantly a flurry of parchment and quills being taken out. Over the noise, Snape continued, "And a point shall be taken from Gryffindor for your not looking through your books before coming, Potter. Miss Honey, why aren't you writing the information down?"

"Because I already know it, Professor Snape," responded Matilda respectfully, though she didn't think him a fair teacher at all. "If you had been asking the questions to the class in general and not to Harry, I would have raised my hand to answer them like Hermione did."

"So, you are knowledgeable, are you? Well then, can you tell me what the Polyjuice Potion is, Miss Honey?"

"It is a potion that allows you to take the appearance of another person for an hour, sir. It takes about a month to brew, requires something of the person you are turning into, usually a hair, and is not meant to animal or partial human transformation, such as a person who has goblin ancestry."

Snape blinked, then snapped, "What color is a Shrinking Solution supposed to be?"

"Green," replied Matilda, who felt relieved that she had read ahead, since Professor Snape was asking about potions that they wouldn't learn about until second year or later.

Snape now looked distinctly annoyed. "A point shall be taken from Gryffindor for your being a know-it-all, Miss Honey." He then turned brusquely away and with his wand, magically wrote the directions for making a simple potion to cure boils on the chalkboard. Matilda hid her annoyance at Snape's unfairness. It wasn't as if she was trying to be a know-it-all. And it wasn't her fault that she happened to like reading and learning, and was able to retain almost everything she read or learned the first time.

The class was then put into pairs and directed to start brewing the potion. Matilda was partnered with Neville, who did pretty well in preparing the ingredients, but appeared to be too nervous of Snape to do a good job in the actual brewing part. Matilda ended up doing most of it, and actually had to stop Neville from helping once because he was about to add the porcupine quills too early, which would have had disastrous results.

Snape swept around the room, inspecting everyone's work and criticizing everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like, and Hermione and Matilda, who didn't do anything that he really could criticize. When everyone was done, he looked at each potion and complimented Malfoy on his. When Snape got to Hermione and Lavender, he didn't make any comment at all, which meant he couldn't find anything wrong with their potion, and did the same with Matilda and Neville's potion.

On the way to lunch, Ron and Harry began complaining about how unfair Snape was. "Why did he have to ask me all those questions like that?" wondered Harry.

"I don't know," answered Matilda. "But I don't see why he had to ask you about stuff that we don't learn until next year or later. Not everyone reads ahead, after all."

Ron turned his head to look at her. "You mean we weren't supposed to learn about bezoars and the rest yet?"

"Not exactly," said Matilda. "A teacher can decide to teach something whenever they want. It's just that the material covered is something considered more appropiate to learn later on."

Harry sighed. "Maybe I should read ahead in Potions like you and Hermione did if Snape's going to be asking me questions about stuff we haven't learned yet all the time."

"That's a good idea," said Hermione brightly. "I'd be happy to quiz you on the stuff you're reading."

"Er, perhaps I should do that, Hermione," said Matilda diplomatically. "You might be too busy with your own work." In actual fact, it was because Matilda would be more patient, since Hermione struck her as the kind of person that could get impatient with people when they didn't know something she felt that they should know.

At three o'clock, the sextet went down to visit Hagrid. He cheerfully greeted everyone and set out tea and rock cakes. The rock cakes turned out to be literally as hard as rocks, but they pretended to enjoy them as Hagrid asked how their first week had been. Matilda found that she liked the gameskeeper, and wondered if he might have some giant ancestry, because of his height.

Ron was telling Hagrid how his brother Charlie was doing when Matilda saw that Harry seemed to be interested in a newspaper clipping that was on the table.

"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

The girls gave him a confused look, as they had no idea what he was talking about. Neville leaned over and explained in a whisper, "There was a break-in at Gringotts at the end of July, but nothing seemed to have been taken." Hagrid wouldn't look Harry in the eye and merely grunted and offered everyone another rock cake.

When the group was heading back to the castle for supper, Harry told them what he had read in the clipping and Hagrid's errand at Gringotts when taking Harry to get his school supplies. Matilda and Lavender exchanged looks, wondering if the vault had been emptied just in time and why someone was after the package that had been in it.


End file.
